Fettuccine with Sausage and Kale

This is a simple recipe and absolutely perfect for a weeknight, since it takes almost no time to put together; waiting for the water to boil is the most arduous part. It is also, dare I mention, cheap to make. We'll be having this again, no doubt.

Fettuccine with Sausage and Kale

I used half a box of cellentani that needed using up, rainbow chard since the kale looked a bit dodgy, and sweet chicken sausage with some crushed red pepper sprinkled over it. L ate some pasta (under duress), a couple of teensy bites of chard, nibbled a piece of sausage, then demanded toast. *sigh*

Today is feeling somewhat bittersweet. For the past 11 months, ever since I came back to work after JJ's birth, I have schlepped two backpacks to the office. One of them holds my laptop, and the other is my Medela breastpump. For the past couple of days, I haven't used the latter, and today, I left it at home altogether. There have certainly been many days when I resented the extra weight on my mile-long walk from the parking lot to the office, chafed at the time it took out of my day (and D's, since he had to clean everything at the end of the day), and looked forward longingly to weaning. But there's always a bit of sadness in these transitions, particularly since this expected to be a final retirement, and I find myself thinking mostly about L's first two weeks in the world, when we nearly despaired of feeding her, and the pump was all that rescued my intent to breastfeed.

But hey--I did it! Two kids seen through their first year on the recommended mommy-based menu. I'm fortunate to have worked at companies that recognize the importance of these things, and to have been able to arrange my schedule to make it all work out. It wasn't convenient and it wasn't always fun, but it was wondrous in its own small way, and I'm going to miss it at least somewhat.